Unspoken
by Woodrow Graham Kenobi-Rimmer
Summary: Gwen's strong moral upbringing might be put in jeopardy by her new situation and feelings of attraction for S'ring. Re-submitted story I am going to finish finally, in the 'Here Come the Terran' series. It, along with the others in the series, should remain mostly the same as they were originally with some minor alterations. The other three stories will be re-posted as well.
1. Chapter 1

**Unspoken**

* * *

**Chapter One: The Mistake**

Unable to fall asleep because of nerves, Gwen would cast anxious glances in S'ring's direction occasionally, relieved that he did not find it necessary to make any kind of small talk. Of course she knew like anyone else that Vulcans weren't prone to making small talk. She really would have been happier if he wasn't so dang…gorgeous. She was constantly pushing aside unmoral thoughts as she observed that they had exited the city limits and were now flying swiftly over a vast desert. She kept pulling her skirt down and began to feel sweaty; this was ridiculous. She opened her comm to a message from Calypsa and a faint blush tinged her rich mocha skin. It was highly doubtful that Vulcans were very _into_ anything, not like human boys which according to her parents were just smaller imitations of the devil. Her parents probably wouldn't like the impressive ears that Vulcans had; they were too similar to certain ancient depictions of demon ears. Gwen thought their ears were kind of..cool. It reminded her of when her friends had dressed up as elves for Halloween; she still had the pictures. If only her history and social studies books had explained to her that Vulcan men were beautiful, _instead_ _of_ how they were earth's allies and lived their lives according to the teachings of Surak; that would have prepared her for this moment much more efficiently. She had a message from her parents but decided not to look at it till later, the last thing she needed right now was to be embarrassed by her overprotective parents in front of S'ring.

S'ring felt concern for Gwen, she seemed to be perspiring and her heart-rate had still not slowed down to a healthy level. It was possible that the Terran medical physicians had not evaluated her state of health accurately; she did not seem at all well. He thought of saying something but had observed that speaking to her only proved to worsen her symptoms. He had never seen the necessity of excessive talking anyway and was content with speaking only when it was absolutely necessary. Verbal exchanges distracted one from deep thought and meditation essential to logical choices. If only more members of his species recognized this. Honestly, S'ring disliked talking, he always had. His eyebrows scrunched almost imperceptibly; he sensed that it was his very presence that caused her such discomfort. Her eyes gazed in his direction at regular intervals as if she was worried about what he would do. It made him wonder if young human women were naturally skittish or if his actions had in some way upset her. He had grasped her arm briefly to help her up but that had been the only logical course of action at the time, as her balance had been extremely faulty and her legs shaky. When they at last reached his dwelling; he knew he must find a way to put her at ease. He had heard from Klen that Terran often found certain displays of verbal and physical affection comforting. He doubted it could do anymore harm and he was at a loss for what else he could do apart from a nerve-pinch, which would not inspire much trust. He stepped in front of her as she fumbled with her luggage remote. He removed it gently from her hand.

"I sense from your body language that my presence causes you to be anxious. This is illogical as I will not harm you." He said in the most calming voice he had; remembering how he had once observed a human female comforting her offspring, he stroked her cheek lightly. He found it a challenge to block the onslaught of thoughts and emotions that she was harboring.

Gwen shuddered at his touch and her last thought as everything went black was: "He has the prettiest eyes."

Catching her before she collapsed, S'ring quickly handed her luggage remote to his younger sister S'lara, who had just come out to meet them. Gathering her limp body up in his arms, S'ring realized he had made an error. He had unfortunately picked up on some of her thoughts accidentally, when his skin made contact with hers and now knew that his touch was what she had feared most of all, as it caused her to feel arousal that she considered to be wrong. This puzzled him; from what he understood of human behavior, they found nothing wrong with harboring feelings of sexual attraction for almost any type of humanoid. Her thought process was fascinating.

"Naafril has requested that you contact her S'ring." S'ring nodded as he carried the Terran female into the dome-roofed house. "I will take the Terran's belongings to her bedchambers. What is wrong with her brother?"

"She surpassed the amount of stress that her body could handle and fainted. She was showing some symptoms of dehydration."

S'lara nodded as she opened the door to the Terran female's room; her eyes alight with curiosity. She let S'ring enter first and watched with interest as he gently placed the girl on the double bed.

S'ring could feel his sister's eyes on him as he checked Gwen's pulse and felt for a fever.

"I have already prepared the evening meal. Should I bring water to her room for when she awakens?"

"Yes." Gwen, apart from being in a deep sleep, seemed to be doing better than she had been before. Her heart rate was normal and a smile curved her lips as her chest rose and fell at regular intervals. He left her side and left a message for her on the console as he saw his sister place a bowl of water on the nightstand out of the corner of his eye.

S'lara had never seen a human up close before and couldn't resist examining her rounded ears and eyebrows; even her strange curly hair was a set in a somehow rounded style. She wondered at her brother's choice; this female was physically mature but S'lara could see from her nearly flawless skin that she was barely out of childhood.

"S'lara, we must give Gwen privacy now."

S'lara reluctantly did as her brother said and followed him out the door. "She is not too young to be bonded?"

"No, she is approximately nineteen years old."

S'lara's eyebrows shot up, she herself was considered very young and she was thirty-five years old. "Human's reach sexual maturity at a younger age?"

"Yes." S'ring's headache was coming back and he was growing weary of S'lara's questions. He walked away from his sister and headed towards his lab to run some experiments and contact Naafril before Gwen woke up. Perhaps he should ask his sister to explain pon farr. He was not sure which idea he liked less, discussing pon farr with his sister, or discussing pon farr with Gwen.

S'lara was used to her brother's antisocial behavior and went back to her quarters to finish her essay on Klingon warfare methods. S'lara was actually appreciative of Gwen's young age; she illogically felt lonely sometimes, she often had since their parents died. It would be pleasant to have someone to talk to besides S'ring when she was home. S'ring was kind to her but, altogether a most un-stimulating conversationalist.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: The Other Woman**

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S'ring sat in front of the comm on the console in his room, a finger stroking the temple on the right side of his face. His headache had not subsided; he would need to meditate soon. Naafril's emotionless face appeared on the screen. He always found that her eyes showed less emotion than her face, they were hard, like her personality.

"Greetings, S'ring." She said in her grating monotone, her nearly black eyes examining him carefully.

"Greetings, Naafril." He wasn't going to ask her what she wanted, he'd find out soon enough.

"I trust your Terran female has arrived safely?"

"Affirmative."

"Do you find her satisfactory?"

"I do." Not that it was any of her business…

"Do you think she will be a willing mate during your next pon farr?"

S'ring lips narrowed into a thin line. Naafril definitely wanted something. "I cannot know."

"If she is not, I am sure that I could convince the doctors here to release me for a time. It is likely that your fervor would frighten her."

"That will not be necessary."

"How can you be so sure?" She asked, her head tilted and her left eyebrow curved skeptically.

"If she is not willing to assist me in pon farr, there are other females closer by. Your presence will not be necessary. It surprises me that you are so willing to help, during my last pon farr you delayed sating me till it was nearly too late." He looked up from the hang-nail he had been examining to observe her response.

All of Naafril's muscles seemed to tense. "I am only fulfilling my duty as your wife. I had business to attend to elsewhere at that time; that you still resent me only implies illogic on your part."

"I am well aware of _what_ you were doing at the time." Trying to find a champion so she wouldn't have to help _him_…

"If you do not require my assistance, there is no reason for this conversation to continue. Naafril out." The screen went blank.

Naafril had no doubt, been attempting to regain honor. She had brought shame to her family by her initial refusal to help her bond mate. S'ring could see that there was some logic in the Terran approach to marriage; he would not have _chosen_ Naafril.

* * *

Gwen awoke on a strange bed, drenched in sunshine. Her lips felt chapped and she downed the water placed beside her bed gratefully. The last thing she remembered was S'ring's touch and then…oh no, she'd fainted. Sitting on her bed she buried her face in her hands, why was she such a freak? She stumbled groggily over to her luggage to get out a pair of pants; she didn't want to experience any of the awkward situations that a skirt might invite. She quickly changed, putting away some of her clothes but she quickly got bored with that. She noticed the flashing light on the console and read S'ring's message.

_If you wake up before sundown, please enter the room at the end of the hall. There is food set out for you there. If you are feeling ill then please turn right after exiting your bedroom and knock on the second door to your left; that is my sister's room and she will assist you. If you wish to speak to me for any reason knock on the fifth door to your right after turning right out of your bedroom, that is my lab and I am usually to be found there._

Gwen thought she would probably be less nervous now after she had already fainted in front of him; it couldn't get much worse really. She did want to speak with him; although he made her nervous, there was something so exhilarating about being near him. She found herself thinking that if he touched her again she wouldn't faint. Plus, there was nothing sexual about stroking someone's cheek was there? Surely not. She was starving nonetheless, so she quickly attempted to memorize the doors mentioned in the message and left the room. There was no door to the dining room, just an archway and she could see a simple table with six chairs. There was a plate and utensils set out for her along with various different dishes. The foodstuffs were unfamiliar to her but she was so hungry she didn't care. The first thing she noticed as she began shoveling food into her mouth was that Vulcan food was very spicy, she snatched up her cup of water hastily and religiously took a drink after every bite. The meal was filling though. She still wanted to speak with S'ring but wanted to brush her teeth first.

S'ring was making notations in his logbook when he heard a knock on the door. He arched his eyebrow as he went to open the door; he had not expected to see Gwen again that day. He opened the door, noticing that her outfit had changed. She stepped back when he opened the door, putting her hands behind her back.

Gwen blushed as she felt S'ring's eyes sweep up her body quickly before pausing on her face. "I uh, just wanted to apologize for earlier. I didn't mean to be such a nuisance. I just get, *ehem*, kind of nervous around men." Gwen wanted to hide behind something but settled for smiling self-depreciatingly.

"Your apology is accepted. It was only a mild inconvenience. I am relieved that all men affect you in this way, I thought perhaps, something in my behavior had offended you." S'ring realized that he was being rude and stepped out into the hall closing the door behind him. "Would you like to converse further in the parlor?"

"Uh, yeah, sounds good." She said with a nervous chuckle and followed him down the narrow hallway. Did his pants really have to be so tight?

Sitting down on the round chair across the Vulcan who caused her heart to beat loudly in her ears, Gwen gazed with appreciation at the sunlight that was streaming through the curtains that seemed to separate them from some kind of patio.

"There is a rather delicate subject, I must discuss with you." S'ring could tell that she wanted to go out on the terrace but, he needed to get this over with now.

"Oh?" She said, trying to appear curious and attempting to find a comfortable way to cross her legs.

"There is a particular way in which your species is aiding us with the crisis that has affected our planet. As all the mature females on Vulcan are currently infertile and our scientists have been unsuccessful for a number of years in remedying this, our government has felt the need to take a rather controversial course of action." He had been staring at the floor and not even noticed it. He looked up to see her listening intently. "Human females when given proper supplemental nutrients can successfully carry half-vulcan offspring to term. Because of your compatibility the decision has been made that Vulcan males who have yet to produce offspring of their own must, take Terran bonds mates. That is the reason that you and your fellow female companions are here, to aid in preserving our species and culture. I was not given a choice, just as you are not given a choice in this arrangement." S'ring knew that Vulcan's leaders had made the logical decision but he could not help but feel a tad bit ashamed of his own people.

Gwen wrung her hands as she processed the information. Apparently she was doomed to be in an arranged marriage. "Oh, wow. I, uh, take it that I am your uh, intended?"

S'ring nodded, finding it interesting that despite the gravity of the information he had imparted, her heart rate was still less erratic than it had been earlier that day. He might as well reveal the other unavoidable truth while he was at it. "There is another thing I must mention."

"Okey-dokey." She said, trying to make light instead of imagine just how angry her parents would be about this. She wasn't really all that upset, she already liked S'ring better than the other guys her parents had mentioned her marrying.

S'ring cocked his head at 'okey-dokey' but, concluded from her tone that it was an affirmative. "Vulcan males experience an altered mental state every seven years, in which they are ruled by emotion and lust. If a Vulcan does not mate during this time, it is likely that he will die. I am telling you this because my pon farr is in within two months and if we are bonded we will automatically be drawn to each other at this time. Pon farr can make male Vulcans rather irrational and possibly dangerous; if you do not wish to be with me during pon farr I must know as soon as possible so that another may be found." S'ring found himself hoping that she would concede to being with him during his pon farr, he felt that her company would not be unwelcome.

Gwen gulped and laughed nervously; she slapped a hand over her mouth. It wasn't funny. Feelings of disbelief, arousal, anxiety, amusement and confusion mingled in her noggin to form an extremely convoluted state of mind in which, she could not concentrate on any individual thought very long. Gwen did not answer at first but S'ring just sat patiently watching her. "I think it would um…" She laughed again and covered her face. "It would be best if I was with you during pon farr I guess." She saw through her fingers, his eyebrow lift. "You know, cause uh, I would be like your wife and all, and it only seems appropriate. Know what I mean?" This was terrible, now it just sounded like she really wanted to have sex with him. This was so wrong…

"I do know what you mean." S'ring ascertained that she was experiencing a human emotion known as embarrassment. He rather wanted to know what her thoughts were just then.

"There is something I need to tell you." She said finally regaining some composure but with what she was about to say next, she didn't imagine keeping it long. She took a deep breath. "I've uh, never even kissed a boy or anything and I guess that you probably have. No, wait, I meant that you have probably kissed someone like a girl, like you aren't a virgin like me." She did a mental face-palm.

S'ring heard her heart rate increase yet again. He nodded, he was pretty sure he knew what she was trying to say. "This causes you distress?"

"Yeah, I mean, I won't really know how to act during this pon farr thing." Gwen couldn't help but be worried by that. Would he force her or something?

"Perhaps it would be wise then, after the marriage ceremony, to mate prior to my time so that you will not be as afraid." It seemed like a reasonable solution to him.

Gwen stared at him, and as his eyes lifted to meet hers, she could have sworn that her heart stopped. "Uh, huh. You know I'm _really_ tired so I'm just gonna go back to bed now. Thank you. Goodnight!" She was almost to the door when she felt him grab her arm.

"You dropped an earring." He released her arm and held the stud out to her innocently.

"Thanks." She snatched the object from him and set out at brisk pace for her room.

The touch from her fingers confirmed what he had already presumed to be the case. She was sexually attracted to him but was nervous due to inexperience. That would be easily remedied; it was only a matter of trust. After spending more time with him her nervousness would dissipate. Unlike in his marriage with Naafril, he was not repulsed by the idea of mating outside of his time with Gwen. Seeing as she was an entirely different species it would be quite _fascinating_.

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**Author's Note: **Special thanks to Catstop, Alexandra S, VickyFromGreece and Sensara for their encouragement. It makes writing so much more fulfilling when you know it isn't just for your own amusement.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: S'lara's Secret**

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S'lara sat in front of her bedroom console, gazing intently at the screen as she conversed with her friends in text. She would have preferred verbal interaction but she did not wish to see S'ring's 'eyebrow of disapproval'. Really she didn't understand what the big deal was, her specialty field _was_ humanoid military methods, therefore, conversing with klingons and romulans should be perfectly logical. Their input was necessary for her research and neither of them had any political power. Meerda was a highly inquisitive Klingon and had many interesting theories on the importance of war and honor; S'lara was grateful that she did not resent her numerous questions about klingon culture. Ergorak was different than Meerda, he was a strategist. S'lara generally avoided making comments about their species' differences, as he tended to become illogically defensive and insulting. Meerda had left the current conversation some minutes ago, she was going to go visit a new guy she liked and had to change her clothes; she liked her current outfit too well to let it become destroyed or bloodied during a romantic confrontation. S'lara was conversing with Ergorak but it was odd, he was continually steering the conversation away from what she wished to talk about, it was most illogical.

S'lara: As I was stating before, in the Nafridian battle maneuver, an ambush is highly unlikely. Why then, do you prefer the Segrudian maneuver? Elucidate.

Ergorak: You always pick the topic of conversation, it is my turn.

S'lara frowned slightly at her computer, that information was vital to her research. He had been doing that these past few weeks, off and on, changing the subject.

S'lara: It is logical that we get equal opportunities to learn from one another however, I would like an answer to my question first.

Ergorak: Please, don't use that disgusting L-word, I become tempted to cease aiding you in your 'research' which may or may not exist. I do not feel like discussing such things right now, later perhaps. How old are you?

S'lara rolled her eyes involuntarily; an irrelevant question.

S'lara: I am 35.

Ergorak: Ah, I am 47. Have you undergone pon farr yet?

S'lara's eyebrows shot up at such an inappropriate question.

S'lara: Your question is considered most improper in my culture. I have not.

Ergorak: You are an amusing vulcan; you accuse me of vulgarity and then tell me anyway. I might almost think that you _wish_ for me to know the details of your mating cycle.

S'lara: Whether you know or not is of no importance to me.

Ergorak: Of course not…forgive me if I do not believe you. I will never become an irrational sex mad animal, well, not without it being my idea anyway. Romulans are evolved past such things. I do not understand why we never speak to one another on screen…are you hideously ugly? Well, even more so than most vulcans that is.

S'lara wished to point out to him that, vulcans and romulans were quite similar in physical appearance but refrained. She was unsure as to why he informed her of his mating cycle, though in truth, she did not realize that Romulans did not experience pon farr.

S'lara: Using the screen in that way is not convenient for me.

S'lara ignored the other half of the enquiry.

Ergorak: You're no fun. Why?

S'lara: My interactions with you are confidential, and as Romulus and Vulcan are not often on peaceful terms, someone could get an incorrect impression.

Ergorak: Someone being your brother. You care too much about his opinion. If you do not let me see you on cam, I will _never_ tell you why I prefer that maneuver…

S'lara blinked. Never before had their conversation strayed so far from professional matters. She should not have told him about her brother; Ergorak was cunning and picked up a lot from their interactions that she had not even realized she was letting on. She decided she could probably speak quietly enough so as not to disturb S'ring; she really wanted to know about that maneuver. It was only logical to compromise; after all, it _was_ a rather one-sided arrangement.

S'lara: Fine, I am switching modes now.

S'lara pushed the buttons to allow audio and visual communications. "Fine, we may converse this way but you must speak softly." Ergorak was undeniably romulan, he even had the defined brow ridges. His eyes were blue, his hair black, his eyebrows were quite bushy and his ears were on the larger side but his appearance was not altogether unpleasant in S'lara's opinion. The view of his torso revealed broad shoulders and pectoral muscles that were visible through his shirt. He was staring at her and she wondered if he was going make an immature statement about vulcan appearance.

Ergorak had been expecting someone plainer and well, less..._hot_. Her dark green eyes were mesmerizing him. She was muscular as he had expected her to be, but her bust was not lacking and her face shape was decidedly feminine. Her ears were sensually narrow and pointy. "You are not what I expected."

"You were not expecting a vulcan?" S'lara had never had a vulcan male look at her in such a way as he was now and was not sure that it was agreeable to her.

"I was not expecting a beautiful vulcan. You are extremely attractive." He smiled as he observed her tilted eyebrow.

S'lara did not respond immediately, she was not used to smiles _or_ such exaggerations regarding her appearance. "Thank you, you seem very…physically capable." S'lara knew it was only polite to return a compliment and his developed musculature was logical in his violent lifestyle.

Ergorak smirked. "I have great physical prowess, I do not always use it for battle, it has its less violent and more…_intimate_ advantages…" He trailed off, staring at the flesh that the uncharacteristically low v-neck put on display for him.

S'lara felt foolish; she was wearing her sleeping gown and she only wore that in private. She had forgotten that she was not wearing more. His gaze aroused illogical feelings within her, Vulcans were always in control of their desires, Romulans obviously were not. "I apologize, my attire is inappropriate. I had forgotten that I was still in my sleeping gown."

"Do not apologize unless you are to apologize for wearing clothes at all."

S'lara's cheeks turned green. "Are you going to answer my question now?" She thought perhaps that she understood her brother's disapproval of the interplanetary communication program now; most men were not like vulcan men. Of course she always knew that but, witnessing the emotionalism first-hand was an enlightening experience.

"You are a relentless girl, I will tell you tomorrow. You appear to be blushing, that is very illogical of you…I like it."

"You are mistaken."

"So you often talk to men at your console in your sleeping gown?"

"That is not what I said."

Ergorak grinned immaturely, but was frustrated by the fact that he could not touch her, of course he should not want to touch her because she was a filthy Vulcan, but he really wanted to anyway.

S'lara's control was being tested. Didn't he realize that she had already been bonded when she was a little girl? Oh yeah, he was with an earth woman now… Still, she should find a way to dissuade him; she needed to preserve professionalism between them. "I am barren."

Ergorak gave her a puzzled expression; that was a strange statement to make for no apparent reason.

"I cannot bear offspring; therefore your sexual attraction to me is illogical."

Ergorak already knew about the infertility of the vulcan women. S'lara was obviously not made of stone; there was a tinge of bitterness in her voice. "I hate children…and logic." He said, smirking; he knew what she was trying to do. "You are full of yourself aren't you; you are so convinced that I wish to have sex with you."

"You do not?" S'lara would need to improve her observational skills if she was wrong.

"I do, but it is disconcerting that you are so sure about it. Wishful thinking?"

S'lara had never considered taking a mate besides a vulcan, although she did somewhat admire the warlike cunning of the romulans. "No. If you are not going to tell me about the maneuvers I am going to bed."

Ergorak laughed at her flared nostrils. "Never fear, I will tell you tomorrow when I return from my post. I think knowledge of certain interrogation methods would also be vital to your research as well. Until tomorrow, sleep well my vulcan temptress." He clicked off his screen and undressed. It was a shame that S'lara was so repressed, in many ways she would be an ideal romulan.

She was not meant for the numb lifestyle of a vulcan. He had immensely enjoyed their discussions over the past months; she was quite brilliant and was unaffected by gruesome details. He felt sorry for her, giving up her dreams for that soul-sucking religion. She wasn't meant to be a researcher, she was meant to be a warrior, perhaps a General.

His favorite part of the day was talking with S'lara and Meerda. His date yesterday had been a disaster, she talked and talked without really saying anything, he found himself continually thinking about S'lara's desire to learn romulan style hand-to-hand combat and how he could teach her if she wasn't so far away. He also enjoyed speaking with Meerda but they were almost chummy in their casual insulting of the other's culture. He did not like the vulcans or the klingons but S'lara and Meerda were refreshingly romulan-like. He was glad that he accepted the opportunity to join in the program; as far as he knew only fifty romulans on Romulus were even involved in the program. He had always been interested in other humanoids despite their inferiority, and the chance to communicate with others who were interested in other cultures was marvelous. Sure, at one point Meerda had threatened to come to Romulus and "carve him up" if he said anything derogatory about the klingon honor code again but, all in all the program had been 'fascinating' as S'lara would say.

He planned on mentioning to S'lara, that due to the pathetic way that vulcans clung to logic, the number of accidental deaths during pon farr on vulcan was about three times larger than the number of all accidental deaths on all the romulan planets combined. They were flesh and blood, they could not just act like robots and expect for there to be no repercussions.

He was worried about his growing attraction to S'lara; he should be falling for someone on his own damn planet who wasn't like, the Romulans' worst enemy.

* * *

S'lara lay down to sleep, fretting over the illogicalness of letting the romulan see her half-dressed. What she knew was especially horrible was that deep down she had found his attraction flattering. If only she could be more like S'ring. She wondered briefly before she drifted off, if Gwen found any type of combat interesting…


End file.
